


Fighting My Way Out (The Owl House Beta AU)

by crow_017



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Character Death, Explicit Language, F/F, Homophobic Language, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:42:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28074156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crow_017/pseuds/crow_017
Summary: A senior in high school, Luz Noceda gets in trouble with the principal after getting into a fight and gets expelled for three months. After walking in the woods, she finds an injured owl and follows it to find out where it goes.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Kudos: 35





	1. The Calm of the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> This is both a vent chapter from my experiences and a prelude to how Beta Luz stumbles upon The Boiling Isles. 
> 
> (TRIGGER WARNINGS:) Light mentioning of racist slurs against People of Colour and the use of homophobic slurs. 
> 
> Song Inspiration: Broken Bones by KALEO

_ Journal Entry (October 7th, 2020): I got in trouble again today. The school was full of all kinds of kids. There were your stereotypes, your jocks, goths, nerds, and all those types in the movies. Then there were types of kids you didn't wanna associate with, you had your drug dealers, skinheads, and wannabe gang members. The ones that various teen novels and romantic movies attempt to ignore. The skinheads decided that I was going to be the one they picked on. How they regretted it.  _

The young woman grits her teeth and wipes the blood from her mouth with one hand and grips tight onto her baseball bat with the other. She eyes the three young men and women circling around her like a pack of vicious wolves as a few of their own are on the floor, beaten, bloody, bruised, and crying. One of the six in the group emerge, and he doubled Luz in size. The goliath among the skinheads cackled pridefully and lunged forward. He was bald and had rotting teeth, probably from chewing too much tobacco. He was the pride of the school's football team due to his stature, strength, and height. 

"Stomp that bitch in the  _ ground _ ," one of the girls laugh. 

" _ ¡Adelante, pendejas! _ " Luz growled in her native tongue. "I'll beat the shit out of all of you!" She runs towards the large man and bashes him in his kneecap, making him bend down on one knee. She swings the baseball, aiming for his shaved head. 

_ Home run.  _

He falls on the ground on his back, whimpering for mercy. She hits him two more times not only to make sure he stays down, but to make sure that the others still wanting to fight learn who they're messing with. 

"Luz Noceda," a voice calls out sternly. "Stop this right this  _ instant _ !" It was a teacher that came at the last minute and the others that were still standing ran. Noceda only saw ass and the heels of converses as they ran the other direction. Other faculty members surrounded her. 

"They started it!" Luz argued, dropping her baseball bat. 

"I'm not going to hear it. You're coming with me to the principal's office." 

_ They took me in the principal's office, something I'm quite familiar with. They called my mom while I sat there with the principal. He had it up to here with my shit. This incident though, it wasn't my fault! They called me slurs and tried to beat me black and blue!  _

"Noceda…" The principal groaned. 

"How's that big motherfucker doing?" She chuckled. 

"'That big mother effer' is alive," he answered. "Daniel had to go to the hospital." 

"I beat him so bad that he had to skip the nurse's office?" She smiled. "Good. Sumbitch deserved it." 

"No, he didn't. You can't just start fights—" 

"They started it!" Luz interrupts, slamming her fist on the table. "They called me a fucking  _ faggot,  _ and that I should go back to where I came from!" She takes a deep breath. "Look, I was just mindin' my own business until they shown up and started all that and circled around me." 

"You could have just called for a teacher or one of the faculty if it was bothering you so much," the principal said crossly. 

"'If it bothered me so much—' I'm not even going to dignify that with a response."

The phone rings after a minute of silence and tension. He puts it on speaker. 

"A Miss… Camilla Noceda has come for a visit," the secretary said. 

"Let her in," he sighs. "Alright, young lady. Since you're so confident and proud of yourself that you done what you've done, you can explain it to your mother." The door opens and the secretary immediately leaves after closing the door behind Camilla. 

"Luz Noceda, you have some explaining to do." Her brows furrow in frustration. 

"Some skinheads were talkin' shit—" 

"Language, young lady." She glared at her. 

"...And picked on me," Luz continued. "There were about nine of them. I defended myself and beat four of them." She looked over at the principal and snarled. "I couldn't 'run to a teacher' because there were nine, if I did, they would've grabbed me and got me worse than what they did." 

"Because of what happened, Daniel had to skip the nurse's office and straight to the hospital because you beat him in the head with a baseball bat." The principal said once again. "He'll have to miss out on playoffs that are coming up in the next two weeks too." 

"You're so concerned with the playoffs when he was going to beat me to a pulp?" Luz shouted. "I'm not even surprised." 

"Did you at least go to the nurse's office to get checked to see if you were okay, Luz?" Camilla asked.

"No,  _ Mami.  _ I'm fine, though. I just have a bruise on my face with a bit of bleeding. I'll be fine, though." 

_ I hate it when they get my mom involved. She works in a hospital that's about forty five minutes away, so it wastes a lot of gas going back and forth and gives Mami more stress than she can handle.  _

"Sir, with all due respect, my daughter should have gotten checked in the nurse's office as well if the other four did." She looked over at him. 

"W-Well, she's standing, so I believe she's fine." He stammered. 

"At least someone's on my side,  _ gracias a Dios. _ " Luz snorted. 

"Hold on now, I'm on nobody's side here." Camilla replied. 

"Getting back on the subject, this isn't her first offense here." The principal started tapping his index finger on the desk. "She will be expelled for three months because this isn't her first, not second, or even third time this year getting into a fight." He makes the final verdict, playing the judge, jury, and executioner. 

"Is there any other way that she can maybe shorten the expulsion?" Camilla asked. 

"If she gives a sincere apology to the four students that she has injured, then I'll reduce it to two months." The principal replied. 

"I'm not gonna apologize," Luz growled. "What I did was justified, and you know it." 

"I knew that you were going to say that… Well then, I'll see you in three months." The Principal frowned. "Go ahead and grab your things from your locker." 

"See you then,  _ puta. _ " She gets up from the chair and opens the door behind her. 

☆☆☆

"Ma, you know I was in the right." Luz argues in the passenger seat. "I won't give anyone a break if they give me that—" she holds her tongue. "—crap, inbred rednecks included." 

"You should have went to a teacher for that. They stopped the fight, didn't they?" Camilla asks. 

"Yeah, but they didn't stumble upon us until it was too late," she answers. "Like always. And it was a nine against one fight, so running was useless. They would have tackled me and done god knows what." 

"I'm concerned that the principal didn't get you to the nurse's office," Camilla sighs. "Look, I know you had to defend yourself, but beating someone twice in the head with a  _ baseball bat  _ isn't self-defense." 

"It is when there are literally more of them than you and one towers you in height and muscle!" Luz argued. "Those fuckin' skinheads called me a bunch of slurs before one of them punched me in the face. They told me to go back where I came from!" 

" _ Mija,  _ I'm sorry you had to go through that— _ "  _

"And it wasn't the first time either, Ma. I had to go through this in middle school when I was twelve years old. They called me a 'Luzer,' they called me things that I even I never want to say." 

Camilla frowns. "I'm sorry you have to go through that. I have to go through with that where I worked too. Did I beat them senseless? No. I shown them that I was better than that. I proved them wrong. I—" 

"Did they directly call you names? Did they threaten you? Did they outnumber and attack you?" Luz asked rhetorically before adjusting her beanie. 

"No, but—" 

"Okay then." 

_ My mom went through a lot, and still does. She had me at a young age and my dad walked out on us two weeks after. She went to school while balancing a job and taking care of me and getting a degree as a nurse, and people over there, both her co-workers and patients, have given her shit about a lot. I love her, but she just doesn't understand. I love her to death.  _

The drive was long and filled with silence, but they got home shortly after. Luz slams the car door after her and rushes up to her room after she unlocks the door, not saying a word. 

Her room was unkempt and was filled with sketch pads, books, old CDs, and movies. She grabbed her bookbag and emptied it out, putting a book and a sketchpad in it. She grabs her baseball bat that she used before and took it with her, and left for downstairs. 

"Missy, where do you think  _ you're  _ going?" Camilla shouted. 

"For a walk," she says after closing the back door and heading for the woods. She hops the short fence and walks aimlessly in the thirty acres of wood behind the ten houses near her place. 

_ I like walking in the woods and hiking. It's peaceful. The birds chirping, the sun is shining, and the leaves are a beautiful yellow and red in the fall. While walking around though, I found an owl limping around. _

"The hell…?" She whispered. "Hey, you okay there, little guy?" She bends down and looks over at the bird that turned its head and looks at her. "Looks like a chipped wing?" She tilts her head and observes it closely. The owl's eyes glow a bright yellow as… Something opens. 

_ Before I knew it, some sorta house appeared or I just didn't notice it while walking in the woods over the years. Either way, I had a feeling I wasn't home anymore.  _

"What the fuck?" Luz steps back, observing what looks like a large, two story house with an owl's face on the door as if it's a signia or seal of sorts. "Haven't seen this before." The owl continues limping towards the house. "...This'll be interesting." She steps in and follows the bird as she grips onto her baseball bat tightly. 

"Let's see just who lives here." 

_ I didn't know that going to check that house out was going to change my life forever.  _


	2. Uninvited Guests

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luz finds the owner of the house, who is also the key to her returning home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a short chapter, but I tried. Hopefully you enjoy!

_Journal Entry (October 7th, 2020): The house was something unique. It looked like something that belonged to a crazy cat lady, filled with trinkets and tiny statues and books that I’ve never heard of._

It looks desolate at first, but then she looks at the table and sees that there is a cup of what looks (and smelled) like black coffee that is still warm to the touch. Someone is here, but the lights are off and it and the place is silent. “That’s strange…” Luz mumbles to herself and starts to plunder to look at the wares. First off is the books, where they look like they are hand-written instead of typed. It is in various languages and had many symbols she wasn’t familiar with. “I only know a few symbols, but this makes me think of witchcraft. What kind of shit _is_ this?” 

There was loud footsteps and yelling that interrupted her train of thought. She looked outside the window and saw an army of large figures with masks and axes for weapons surrounding one woman with pale skin and elven ears with a bow staff. The guards wear the same uniform, black hood with a white mask reminiscent of what plague doctors wore. At least, in her world. 

“Come with us on your own accord and we’ll consider bringing you alive,” the larger one of the group threatens the middle-aged woman. 

“Hmm… Lemme think about it,” she tilts her head. “Maybe, uhh…” Before she finishes, something attacks the leader among them. “...Nah, I’m good! Thanks, Hooty.” 

“New friends!” A cheery voice sings as something emerges from the ground and wraps itself around the large guard as the others are paralyzed with fear. “Miss Clawthorne doesn’t like you guys in her property, but I’d love some _company!~_ ” 

“I-Is that some snake!?” One of the many in the crowd yelled. “A spell?” Another asked. “A… A snake spell!?” Another combines the two’s guesses. 

“Have fun, you guys.” The strange woman says with a cocky tone. “At least, I know Hooty will.” She turns around and opens the door to the house, leaving the guards to either run for their lives, scream, get caught by the “snake spell,” or all three if they were unfortunate enough.

Luz hides behind the chair, lurking in the shadows and hoping the owner doesn’t sic Hooty on her. 

“...I’m a witch,” She begins what seems like a rant to herself. “I’ve been taught spells, cures, hexes, all that kinda good stuff.” She continues while digging in the cabinet. “I’ve _also_ been taught to sense when something is wrong or out-of-the-ordinary.” After grabbing a large bottle, she goes behind the chair and pats the young woman on the shoulder.

“Ah!” Luz jumps in her own skin. 

“...And I know when that ‘out-of-the-ordinary’ is in my house.” She says. “What’re you doin’ here, kid?” 

“…You’re not gonna kill me or chase me off?”

“Honestly, I’m just glad you’re not one of those ‘Titan’s Witnesses,’ those people get on my nerves.” She rolled her eyes. “And if I wanted you dead, I would’ve killed you right at that doorstep and nobody would have noticed,” she says without much change in her voice. “Pleasantries aside, I’m Eda. People just call me ‘The Owl Lady’ though. What’s your name?” She asked. 

“...Luz,” she answers concernedly. “Luz Noceda. Also, wait. Why’re your… Why’re your ears pointy?” Noceda tilts her head. 

“And why do you have round ones?” Eda asks rhetorically. “Are you some sorta human?” She observes closely. 

“Y-Yeah, why _wouldn’t_ I be?” She backs off. “Hey there, welcome to my personal space. Occupation, two.” 

“Ooh, another new friend!” A voice cries out in a cheery voice as the door magically opens. “Hiiii!” 

“Wait, your door can fuckin’ _talk_?” Luz says, astonished. 

“Yeah, you get used to it after a while. Anyway, why’re you uh… Y’know. Here, and not in your realm?” She asks. 

“I followed some sorta owl, it had a chipped wing. Wait, where’d that damned thing go?” Noceda looks up and down for it. 

“This what you’re lookin’ for?” She points to her staff and there it is. The same owl with the same chip on its wing. “That’s Owlbert.” 

“W-Well, that’s somethin’...” She looked up at the Owl Lady who towered her in height. 

“Who is the fool that _dares_ awaken me from _my_ slumber?” A deep, angry voice bellows in the hallway. The large shadow cast in the background grows smaller and smaller before the actual figure emerges. 

“Forgetaboutit,” Eda smirked. “Just some uninvited guests.” She said before taking a large gulp of what _looked_ like wine. She sits down on her recliner and Luz stands around. Whatever fear she had before is replaced with even more confusion. 

“W-What exactly is this place?” Luz asks. “Don’t tell me I died… Wait, is this hell?” She tilted her head. “I expected it to be more… Uh… Fiery, screamy, and maggoty.” 

“Hell?” She shrugs. “Nah. It’s not whatever you’re talking about. This place is the Boiling Isles.” She continues to drink from the bottle. 

“Out of all the things you scavenged in the human realm, you got a _child_?” The small animal walks around on two legs while wearing the skull of some animal that Luz has never seen before. 

“Cute dog… Thing, whatever,” Luz bent down to pat the animal on the head. 

“I am _not_ a dog, whatever that is… I am the King of _Demons!_ ” He shoves Luz’s hand away with his paws and roars proudly. 

“Meet King,” Eda greets. “He leeches off me and hogs all the food but I don’t mind. Company’s company.” 

“It’s the food tax, peasant!” King barked. 

“Whatever you say, your majesty.” Eda grins while she turns on the crystal ball, flipping through various channels. 

“What... Is that?” Luz asked. 

“The crystal ball, of course. Turn it on and you can see various alternative realms and even realities.” Eda stares at one channel in particular, one with a younger Luz with shorter hair, shorter height, and with a wide grin. “Hey look! This one looks like you, but… Tinier, cuter, and more friendly-lookin’.” 

“W-Whatever…” Luz scoffs. “And the fuck’s that ‘sposed to mean? I’m hella friendly!” She refuted. 

“...Uh-huh.” Eda sighs as the crystal ball continues to glare. _I’m an otter! With a dark side,_ the child grins at the other young girl with dyed green hair as she holds an otter onesie up next to a dress, getting ready for what looks like prom. 

“L-Look, I just wanna leave the what’s-this-place and get back home.” Luz changes the subject. 

“I have an idea,” Eda snapped her fingers. “You wanna get back home and I have what you need…”

“You need me to do you a favor, right?” Luz groaned. 

“Yup! I’m not just gonna do somethin’ for free. Isn’t what you humans say, ‘to communise off whatever you’re good at?” She asks rhetorically. 

“That’s ‘capitalize,’ and I knew it…” Luz rolled her eyes. 

“‘Capitalize,’ ‘communise,’ tomato, tomato.” Eda smirked. 

“N-No, not really—” 

“Not the point. Anyway, King has a treasured crown that can give him unlimited power—” Eda continues on with the backstory. “—and The Coven has possession of it. They protected it with a barrier that only a _human_ can pass through with ease.” 

“‘Unlimited power?’ You mean that thing over there can kick ass?” She glances over at King who had to reach and climb on the couch just to sit. “Looks like he wasn’t messing around when he said ‘the king of demons,’” she mumbles. 

“When am I wrong? I may be a demon, but I never lie!” He says with pride. 

“...This is the only way to go home?” She asks. 

“Yup,” Eda nods. “I’m pretty firm on my offer.”

“ _Dios mio,_ ” Luz sighs. “Fine, I’m in.”

“Alright. We’ll go in the dead of night, then.” Eda’s smug attitude turns serious as she summons her staff. 

_I met a weird old lady and King, some dog-looking thing that claims to be the “king of demons.” She’s the only way home, so I had to comply to what she wanted. And how hard could it be? This ain’t the first time I’ve done something like this anyways._


End file.
